Week 9: Seal of approval

Hi all,

I kicked things off on Saturday with another 7km run which is becoming my usual distance. My pace was 7:30/km.

I followed this up on Monday (a public Holiday) with another 7km, on a pace of 7:49/km, so I’m plateauing. One thing I learned about the
plateau is that you must learn to love the plateau as you lay the groundwork for your next burst of improvement. In George Leanard’s book Mastery, he outlines the importance of embracing
every plateau as a necessary step to your next burst of improvement, and not to get discouraged by a temporary pause in your improvement.

Tuesday I stuck to my usual kettlebell workout which gave me a great deal of soreness the next day in my upper body. Fortunately you don’t
really need your arms to run, so I got back out to Yarra Bend Park on Wednesday when I managed 5km at a pace of 7:00/km, another minor breakthrough on the 7-minute barrier,
albeit over a shorter distance.

It feels good to have even a minor burst of progress. Something I try to remember when I’m running is the Navy Seal 40% rule, which states that when you feel like quitting you are actually only at 40% of
your true failure point. So, I surmise that even if you are giving 110 percent, you are still only operating at 44% of your capabilities!

It’s good to remember when I get the urge to break my running pace and drop back to a walk for a couple of minutes. Instead, I focus on maintaining my running
pace just until the next tree, then when I reach that, I set my sights to the next tree, and so on. A good way to push yourself harder, and increase your mental toughness.

Thursday I did more kettlebells and am about to go out for a gigantic steak dinner. Plenty of protein to rebuild my muscles which have
been ravaged by running. I’m sure this is exactly how Philippides felt after running back to back marathons...